Fan assembly structure

ABSTRACT

A fan assembly structure is provided. The fan assembly structure comprises a fan, an air-flow guiding structure and a fixing component. The air-flow guiding structure has a plurality of air-flow guiding holes, a leaning portion and a plurality of first locking portions distributed on the leaning portion. The fixing component has a plurality of second locking portions. The fan is pivotally connected with the fixing component. The second locking portion is adapted to rotate by an angle with respect to the leaning portion to lock with the corresponding first locking portion. Thereby, the fan is disposed on the air-flow guiding structure by only the fixing component.

This application claims the benefit from the priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 100135314 filed on Sep. 29, 2011, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a fan assembly structure, in particular, a fan assembly structure for fixing an axial fan.

2. Descriptions of the Related Art

Conventional cooling fan structures fixed in desktop computer hosts or power supplies are as shown in FIG. 1(a) of the specification of Taiwan Invention Patent No. 1259049, FIG. 3 of the specification of Taiwan Invention Patent No. 1327269 and FIG. 1 of the specification of Taiwan Utility Model Patent No. M273941. Such a conventional cooling fan generally comprises a fan vane disposed in a fan frame. By threading a plurality of screws through holes in a computer host or the casing of a power supply into the fan frame, the cooling fan can be fixed in the computer host or the power supply. However, to save manufacturing costs by simplifying the structure of cooling fans, various improvement solutions have been proposed successively in the art, which will be detailed as follows.

For example, “a cooling fan module structure for an electric device” disclosed in Taiwan Invention Patent No. 1259049 comprises a fan vane formed with a plurality of screw holes in the central portion thereof. The fan vane is fixed in the electric device by threading a plurality of screws through holes formed in the casing of the electric device and then into the screw holes of the fan vane. However, using screws to fix the fan module structure often extends the time necessary for assembling the cooling fan module structure if small screws were lost inadvertently during the repair or maintenance of the cooling fan module structure, spare screws must be available used for replacement, which furthers extend the time necessary for repair or maintenance if the screws aren't readily available.

Furthermore, “an improved frameless fan fixing structure” disclosed in Taiwan Utility Model Patent No. M273941 comprises a fan, a driving mount and a locking cover. The fan is rotatably connected with the driving mount, and a locking hook of the locking cover passes through a heat dissipating mesh of a power supply to lock with a locking groove of the driving mount so that the fan is fixed by means of the driving mount and the locking cover. However, the frameless fan fixing structure still requires the use of a plurality of fixing components to fix the fan. Furthermore, when the locking cover is detached for repair or maintenance, the fracture of the hook-shaped locking hook often occurs due to an improper removal direction or an improper applied force, thus, making it impossible to fix the fan completely.

Accordingly, an urgent need exists in the art to provide a fan assembly structure that requires the use of less fixing components and allows for the easy detachment and assembly of the fan.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a fan assembly structure, which can fix a fan securely to the casing of an electric device by using only a single fixing component to improve the convenience in the assembly process.

To achieve the aforesaid objective, the present invention provides a fan assembly structure, which comprises a fan, an air-flow guiding structure and a fixing component. The air-flow guiding structure has a plurality of air-flow guiding holes, a leaning portion and a plurality of first locking portions distributed on the leaning portion. The fixing component has a plurality of second locking portions and a bushing portion. The bushing portion is disposed on the central portion of the fan and the fan rotatably connects with the fixing component by the bushing portion. The second locking portions correspond to the first locking portions respectively and rotate relative to the leaning portion by an angle to lock with the first locking portions. Thereby, the fan can be rotatably disposed on the air-flow guiding structure by the single fixing component.

The detailed technology and preferred embodiments implemented for the subject invention are described in the following paragraphs accompanying the appended drawings for people skilled in this field to well appreciate the features of the claimed invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a fan assembled with a fixing component in a fan assembly structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a schematic perspective view of an air-flow guiding structure of the fan assembly structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a partially enlarged schematic perspective view of the air-flow guiding structure of the fan assembly structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of the fixing component of the fan assembly structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention when leaning against the air-flow guiding structure;

FIG. 3B is a partially enlarged schematic plan view of the fixing component of the fan assembly structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention when leaning against the air-flow guiding structure;

FIG. 3C is a schematic perspective partial view of the fixing component of the fan assembly structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention when leaning against the air-flow guiding structure;

FIG. 4A is a schematic plan view of the fixing component assembled with the air-flow guiding structure in the fan assembly structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4B is a partially enlarged schematic plan view of the fixing component assembled with the air-flow guiding structure in the fan assembly structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4C is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of the fixing component assembled with the air-flow guiding structure in the fan assembly structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4D is a schematic perspective view of the fixing component assembled with the air-flow guiding structure in the fan assembly structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a fan assembled with a fixing component in a fan assembly structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6A is a schematic perspective view of an air-flow guiding structure of the fan assembly structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6B is a schematic plan view of the air-flow guiding structure of the fan assembly structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7A is a schematic plan view of the fixing component of the fan assembly structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention when leaning against the air-flow guiding structure;

FIG. 7B is a partially enlarged schematic view of the fixing component of the fan assembly structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention when leaning against the air-flow guiding structure;

FIG. 7C is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ shown in FIG. 7B;

FIG. 8A is a schematic plan view of the fixing component assembled with the air-flow guiding structure in the fan assembly structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8B is a partially enlarged schematic view of the fixing component assembled with the air-flow guiding structure in the fan assembly structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8C is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B′ shown in FIG. 8B.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A fan assembly structure 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 3C, FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 4C and FIG. 4D. The fan assembly structure 1 comprises a fan 11, an air-flow guiding structure 12 and a fixing component 13. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the fan 11 assembled with the fixing component 13. FIG. 2A is a schematic perspective view of the air-flow guiding structure 12. FIG. 2B is a partially enlarged schematic perspective view of the air-flow guiding structure 12. FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of the fixing component 13 when leaning against the air-flow guiding structure 12. FIG. 3B is a partially enlarged schematic plan view of the fixing component 13 when leaning against the air-flow guiding structure 12. FIG. 3C is a schematic perspective partial view of the fixing component 13 when leaning against the air-flow guiding structure 12. FIG. 4A is a schematic plan view of the fixing component 13 assembled with the air-flow guiding structure 12. FIG. 4B is a partially enlarged schematic plan view of the fixing component 13 assembled with the air-flow guiding structure 12. FIG. 4C is a schematic partial cross-sectional view of the fixing component 13 assembled with the air-flow guiding structure 12. FIG. 4D is a schematic perspective view of the fixing component 13 assembled with the air-flow guiding structure 12.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the air-flow guiding structure 12 has a plurality of air-flow guiding holes 121, a leaning portion 122 and a plurality of first locking portions 123. The plurality of air-flow guiding holes 121 are distributed at a periphery of the leaning portion 122, and the plurality of first locking portions 123 are distributed on the leaning portion 122. As shown in FIG. 1, the fixing component 13 has a plurality of second locking portions 131 and a bushing portion 132. The bushing portion 132 is disposed on the central portion 111 of the fan 11 so that the fan 11 rotatably connects with the fixing component 13 by the bushing portion 132. Referring to FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A and 4B, each of the second locking portions 131 corresponds to each of the first locking portions 123 respectively and rotates relative to the leaning portion 122 to lock with the first locking portions 123. Thereby, the fan 11 is rotatably disposed on the air-flow guiding structure 12 by the fixing component 13 (as shown in FIG. 4D). To fix the fixing component 13 securely on the air-flow guiding structure 12, a rotating direction R1 of each of the second locking portions 131 rotating relative to each of the leaning portion 122 is opposite to a rotation direction of the fan 11.

It shall be appreciated that the number of the second locking portions 131 is equal to that of the first locking portions 123. In this embodiment, the number of the first locking portions 123 and that of the second locking portions 131 are both three; however, the number of the first locking portions 123 and that of the second locking portions 131 may be adjusted depending on the practical use necessary in other embodiments of the present invention.

The structures and the locking mechanisms of the first locking portions 123 and the second locking portions 131 will be further described in detail hereinbelow. Referring to FIGS. 3A to 4B, each of the first locking portions 123 is a groove and distributed at a periphery 122 a of the leaning portion 122, and the second locking portions 131 are distributed on the fixing component 13 corresponding to each of the first locking portions 123 respectively. Referring to FIG. 3C, each of the second locking portions 131 is a protrusion of an inverted L-shape, which is formed on a surface 135 of the fixing component 13 to define a gap 131 a between the protrusion (i.e., each of the second locking portions 131) and the surface 135 of the fixing component 13. When the fixing component 13 leans against the leaning portion 122 in such a way that the second locking portion 131 is located at an end 123 a of the first locking portion 123 and a locking surface 123 c of the groove (i.e., the first locking portion 123) is located in the gap 131 a, the fixing component 13 is adapted to rotate relative to the leaning portion 122 by an angle. As a result, the second locking portion 131 slides along the locking surface 123 c from the end 123 a of the first locking portion 123 to the other end 123 b of the first locking portion 123 as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C. Thereby, the second locking portion 131 is covered on the locking surface 123 c of the first locking portion 123 to be locked with the first locking portion 123.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3A and 4A, the fixing component 13 further comprises a wiring groove 133 extending from the periphery of the fixing component 13. By locking tenons 133 a into the air-flow guiding structure 12, wirings of the fan 11 can be fixed in the wiring groove 133. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3B, a connecting line between a center 122 b of the leaning portion 122 and one of the first locking portions 123 and a connecting line between the center 122 b of the leaning portion 122 and an adjacent one of the first locking portions 123 preferably form an included angle θ of 120°. Because each of the second locking portions 131 correspond to each of the first locking portions 123 respectively, it can be readily known that a connecting line between a center of the fixing component 13 and one of the second locking portions 131 and the connecting line between the center of the fixing component 13 and an adjacent one of the second locking portions 131 also form an included angle of 120°. Thus, the fixing component 13 can be fixed onto the air-flow guiding structure 12 more securely.

The structure of the air-flow guiding structure 12 will be further described in detail hereinbelow. Referring to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 4D, the air-flow guiding structure 12 is disposed on a sidewall 141 of a casing 14, and the casing 14 may be the casing of a power supply. To increase the air flow, the casing 14 has a plurality of wind-collecting plates 142 disposed around the periphery 124 of the air-flow guiding structure 12. The air-flow guiding structure 12 has a plurality of ribs 125 disposed around the leaning portion 122 and intersects with each other to define the air-flow guiding holes 121. Thus, the air flow generated by the fan 11 can flow out or in through the air-flow guiding holes 121 to dissipate heat generated by the power supply or other electronic devices. The leaning portion 122 connects with the casing 14 through the ribs 125. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the fan 11 and the fixing component 13 are fixed onto the air-flow guiding structure 12 by being located in the casing 14.

A fan assembly structure 2 of the second embodiment according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 5, 6A, 6B, 7A, 7B, 7C, 8A, 8B and 8C. FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a fan 21 assembled with a fixing component 23. FIG. 6A is a schematic perspective view of an air-flow guiding structure 22. FIG. 6B is a partially enlarged schematic perspective view of the air-flow guiding structure 22. FIG. 7A is a schematic plan view of the fixing component 23 when leaning against the air-flow guiding structure 22. FIG. 7B is a partially enlarged schematic view of the fixing component 23 when leaning against the air-flow guiding structure 22. FIG. 7C is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ in FIG. 7B and illustrating the method in which the fixing component 23 leans against the air-flow guiding structure 22. FIG. 8A is a schematic plan view of the fixing component 23 assembled with the air-flow guiding structure 22. FIG. 8B is a partially enlarged schematic view of the fixing component 23 assembled with the air-flow guiding structure 22. FIG. 8C is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B′ in FIG. 8B and illustrating how the fixing component 23 is assembled with the air-flow guiding structure 22. The structure of the fan assembly structure 2 is substantially the same as that of the fan assembly structure 1 of the first embodiment according to the present invention; that is, the fan assembly structure 2 also comprises a fan 21, an air-flow guiding structure 22 and a fixing component 23. The air-flow guiding structure 22 also has a plurality of air-flow guiding holes 221, a leaning portion 222 and a plurality of first locking portions 223. The fixing component 23 also has a plurality of second locking portions 231 and a bushing portion 232. The second embodiment of the present invention differs from the first embodiment in that the first locking portions 223 and the second locking portions 231 are disposed on the leaning portion 222 and the air-flow guiding structure 22 respectively.

In detail, please refer to FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B. In the second embodiment, the first locking portions 223 are distributed in a central region 222 a of the leaning portion 222, and each of the first locking portions 223 is a groove with a hole 223 b formed on the locking surface 223 a of the groove. As shown in FIG. 5, the second locking portions 231 are distributed on the fixing component 23 corresponding to each of the first locking portions 223 respectively. Referring to FIGS. 7C and 8C, each of the second locking portions 231 is a protrusion of an inverted L-shape, which is formed on a surface 235 of the fixing component 23 to define a gap 231 a between the protrusion (i.e., each of the second locking portions 231) and the surface 235 of the fixing component 23. Referring to FIGS. 7A to 7C, when the fixing component 23 leans against the leaning portion 222 in such a way that the second locking portion 231 is located at an end 223 c of the first locking portion 223 and the second locking portion 231 passes through the hole 223 b so that the locking surface 223 a is located in the gap 231 a, the fixing component 23 rotates relative to the leaning portion 222 by an angle so that the second locking portion 231 slides along the locking surface 223 a from the end 223 c of the first locking portion 223 to the other end 223 d of the first locking portion 223 as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B.

Accordingly, the second locking portions 231 will correspond to the first locking portions 223 respectively and rotate relative to the leaning portion 222 to lock with the first locking portions 223. The bushing portion 232 may be disposed on a central portion 211 of the fan 21, and the fan 21 rotatably connects with the fixing component 23 by the bushing portion 232 so as to be disposed on the air-flow guiding structure 22 by the fixing component 23. To fix the fixing component 23 securely onto the air-flow guiding structure 22, a rotating direction R2 of each of the second locking portions 231 rotating relative to the leaning portion 222 is opposite to a rotation direction of the fan 21.

In this embodiment, the number of second locking portions 231 is equal to that of the first locking portions 223. In this embodiment, the number of the first locking portions 223 and that of the second locking portions 231 are both three; however, in other embodiments of the present invention, the number of first locking portions 223 and that of the second locking portions 231 may be adjusted depending on practical use.

In this embodiment, referring to FIGS. 5, 7A and 8A, the fixing component 23 further comprises a wiring groove 233 extending from a periphery of the fixing component 23. By locking a tenon 233 a into the air-flow guiding structure 22, the wirings of the fan 21 can be fixed into the wiring groove 233. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7B, the connecting line between the center 222 a of the leaning portion 222 and one of the first locking portions 223 and the connecting line between the center 222 a of the leaning portion 222 and an adjacent one of the first locking portions 223 preferably form an included angle θ′ of 120°. As each of the second locking portions 231 corresponds to each of the first locking portions 223 respectively, it can be readily known that a connecting line between a center of the fixing component 23 and one of the second locking portions 231 and a connecting line between the center of the fixing component 23 and an adjacent one of the second locking portions 231 will also form an included angle of 120°. Thus, the fixing component 23 can be fixed on the air-flow guiding structure 22 more securely. However, in other embodiments of the present invention, the value of the angle θ′ may be adjusted depending on the practical use but is not limited to the aforesaid degree.

Referring to FIG. 6A, the structure of the air-flow guiding structure 22 according to the second embodiment is substantially the same as that of the air-flow guiding structure 12 of the first embodiment. The air-flow guiding structure 22 is disposed on a sidewall 241 of a casing 24, and the casing 24 may be a casing of a power supply. In order to increase the air flow, the casing 24 has a plurality of wind-collecting plates 242 disposed around a periphery 224 of the air-flow guiding structure 22, and the air-flow guiding structure 22 has a plurality of ribs 225 disposed around the leaning portion 222 and intersecting with each other to define the air-flow guiding holes 221. Thus, the air flow generated by the fan 21 can flow out or in through the air-flow guiding holes 221 to dissipate heat generated by the power supply or other electronic devices. The leaning portion 222 connects with the casing 24 by the ribs 225, and the fan 21 and the fixing component 23 are located inside the casing 24.

In addition, in order to assemble the fan assembly structure of the present invention more conveniently, the fixing component 13 of the first embodiment according to the present invention comprises a plurality of locating holes 134 as shown FIG. 1. Fixtures can pass through the fan 11 and the locating holes 134 to prevent relative rotation between the fan 11 and the fixing component 13. Referring to FIG. 5, the fixing component 23 of the second embodiment according to the present invention also comprises a plurality of locating holes 234 which have the same function as that of the locating holes 134 of the first embodiment, so this will not be further described herein.

According to the above descriptions, as compared with the conventional fan fixing structure, the fan of the fan assembly structure according to the present invention can be fixed on the air-flow guiding structure in a rotatably locking way directly by means of only a single fixing component. This can not only simplify the assembling process to decrease the manufacturing cost, but also make the fan assembly structure easier and more convenient to assemble so that the user can replace the fan easily by himself.

The above disclosure is related to the detailed technical contents and inventive features thereof. People skilled in this field may proceed with a variety of modifications and replacements based on the disclosures and suggestions of the invention as described without departing from the characteristics thereof. Nevertheless, although such modifications and replacements are not fully disclosed in the above descriptions, they have substantially been covered in the following claims as appended. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A fan assembly structure, comprising: a fan; an air-flow guiding structure, having a plurality of air-flow guiding holes, a leaning portion and a plurality of first locking portions, the plurality of air-flow guiding holes being distributed at a periphery of the leaning portion, and the plurality of first locking portions being distributed on the leaning portion; and a fixing component, having a plurality of second locking portions and a bushing portion; wherein the bushing portion is disposed on a central portion of the fan, the fan rotatably connects with the fixing component by the bushing portion, and the second locking portions correspond to the first locking portions respectively and rotate relative to the leaning portion by an angle to lock with the first locking portions, and thereby the fan is disposed on the air-flow guiding structure by the fixing component.
 2. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein a rotating direction of each of the second locking portions rotating relative to the leaning portion is opposite to a rotation direction of the fan.
 3. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the air-flow guiding structure is disposed on a sidewall of a casing.
 4. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein the casing has a plurality of wind-collecting plates disposed around a periphery of the air-flow guiding structure.
 5. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein the air-flow guiding structure has a plurality of ribs disposed around the leaning portion to define the air-flow guiding holes, and the leaning portion connects with the casing by the ribs.
 6. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 5, wherein the fixing component further comprises a wiring groove extending from a periphery of the fixing component.
 7. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first locking portions and the second locking portions are three first locking portions and three second locking portions respectively.
 8. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein a connecting line between a center of the leaning portion, each of the first locking portions and the adjacent first locking portion forms an included angle of 120 degrees.
 9. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 8, wherein the fixing component has a plurality of locating holes.
 10. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 9, wherein each of the second locking portions is a protrusion formed on a surface of the fixing component, and the protrusion and the surface together define a gap.
 11. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first locking portions are distributed at a periphery of the leaning portion and the second locking portions are distributed on the fixing component corresponding to each of the first locking portions respectively.
 12. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first locking portions are distributed in a central region of the leaning portion and the second locking portions are distributed on the fixing component corresponding to each of the first locking portions respectively.
 13. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the first locking portions is a groove, and when the second locking portion is located at an end of the first locking portion and a locking surface of the groove is located in the gap, the fixing component rotates relative to the leaning portion, so that the second locking portion slides along the locking surface from the end of the first locking portion to the other end of the first locking portion.
 14. The fan assembly structure as claimed in claim 12, wherein each of the first locking portions is a groove having a hole formed on a locking surface of the groove, and when the second locking portion is located at an end of the first locking portion and the second locking portion passes through the hole to locate the locking surface of the groove into the gap, the fixing component rotates relative to the leaning portion, so that the second locking portion slides along the locking surface from the end of the first locking portion to the other end of the first locking portion. 